Monday, September 11, 2006

Remembering 9/11

"How is it possible to commit acts of such savage cruelty? The human heart has depths from which schemes of unheard-of ferocity sometimes emerge, capable of destroying in a moment the normal daily life of a people. But faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it.""To those affected by this immense tragedy I hold up the light of the Gospel and pray that by the prompting of the Holy Spirit they will be led to an ever closer union with the Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of His cross and resurrection. To all I solemnly repeat the Gospel injunction not to be conquered by evil, but to conquer evil with good (Rom 12,21), to trust in the power of God's grace to transform human hearts and to work fearlessly to shape a future of justice, peace and security for the children of our world. "--Pope John Paul II in the days following 9/11The above words were written by Pope JPII shortly after 9/11. One was in a letter to Cardinal McCarrick in Washington, D. C., offering his condolences and the other was in a speech to his General Audience on 9/12.

There is a darkness. A shadow so black that all that can be found is coldness and hatred. It's a darkness that prevails because Christ has not cast His light on it.

It's a darkness in a person's soul and it's a darkness that can kill thousands of people. It's a darkness that can cause buildings to collapse.

Yet from this evil came an immense good. The faith that came alive in the days after 9/11 was a good so astounding showing that God can take something truly evil and bring something beautiful out of it as He so often does!

I can't believe it's been five years since that horrible day. I remember my heart being filled with so much emotion. Fear. Sadness. Anxiety.

The two words that rang through my head for around two weeks as we were inundated with television coverage were, "mercy and justice."

May God show mercy on all involved in the 9/11 attack and may His justice always prevail.